


If You Only Knew

by sam4587



Series: Merthurweek2021 aka Attempts At Angst [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe – Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arthur and the Knights to the Rescue, I probably forgot some - Freeform, I'm Sorry, Kidnapping, M/M, Minor Character Death, Worried Arthur Pendragon, but just the villains don’t worry, i can't tag, merthurweek2021
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 18:36:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30059805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sam4587/pseuds/sam4587
Summary: Merlin gets kidnapped. Arthur won’t stop at anything to get him back.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merthurweek2021 aka Attempts At Angst [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2213214
Comments: 12
Kudos: 123
Collections: Merthur Week 2021





	If You Only Knew

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Merthurweek2021 Day 1 - “I can’t think straight with you!”
> 
> This has been beta’d by [mother_of_lions](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mother_of_lions/works); thank you so much for making this presentable (and removing all of my useless commas)!
> 
> Disclaimer: The story is mine, BBC Merlin is not. Please do not repost.

It had been three days.

They felt like three years.

Arthur felt like he was losing his mind – slowly, but surely.

They’d been on patrol. Everything was going just fine. It was just him and Merlin along with his knights; Leon, Percival, Elyan, Gwaine, Lancelot. They’d been riding through the woods, talking, laughing, having fun.

Now, he thought they had perhaps been having too much fun.

They’d come out of nowhere. From all directions. And of course just in a place where there was barely any space to move properly. The bandits had outnumbered them five to one, and Arthur and his knights had seen no other option but to turn their horses around and flee. He _hated_ fleeing like they were cowards, but Leon had assured him that it was wiser to know when they couldn’t win. It wasn’t until they had put a decent distance between them and the bandits that Arthur had stopped for a head count. And then…

He still got cold all over his body when he remembered the moment he’d realized Merlin wasn’t with them anymore.

“Merlin!” he’d screamed, fear coursing through his body. There had been no answer, no quippy shout back, nothing, only his knights looking around when they realized what was happening. He’d turned his horse around and galloped back the way they’d come. However, by the time he returned to the scene of the attack, there was no sign of Merlin.

He was gone, and it was all Arthur’s fault.

They had turned around to Camelot instantly, and Arthur had ridden out with a search party moments after they’d arrived. He hadn’t even taken the time to report to his father, not bothering with such antics when _Merlin’s life_ was at stake. Without question, all his knights had followed him back into the woods.

He had no idea where to start looking, and he was painfully aware that Merlin could be well over the border by now. But he didn’t give up. That’s how he found himself wandering around in the Darkling Woods three days after that disastrous day, accompanied only by his knights. His father had forbidden him from taking search parties out for more than a day, because “the boy is only a servant” and “he’s not worth our resources”, because “you can easily find a new servant, Arthur, one you won’t complain about as much this time around”.

But Arthur didn’t want a new servant. He wanted Merlin. Now.

From across the fire, Arthur saw Leon looking at him with obvious worry in his eyes. Arthur didn’t know if the worry was directed at him or if Leon was worried about Merlin; he didn’t care, either. He answered Leon’s gaze stoically and turned down the food Gwaine brought him – they hadn’t brought another servant with them instead of Merlin, how could they? No servant would be comparable to Merlin, and he’d only spend his time missing Merlin more.

Because, yes, Arthur missed Merlin. He was man enough to admit that by now. He was going to deny it when they found him – _when_ , not if, _when_ they found Merlin. There was absolutely no way Arthur would return to Camelot before they’d found his clumsy manservant. No way.

“Sire, you should try to get some sleep. You won’t be able to help Merlin if you’re falling off your horse from fatigue.” Lancelot shot Arthur a look as he said it, and Arthur could see in his face Lancelot knew the truth; Arthur hadn’t slept the past few nights, and that wasn’t suddenly going to change now. Nevertheless, Arthur nodded and laid down on his bedroll. Even if he didn’t really sleep, he could still give his muscles some rest.

-*-*-*-

“Sire! _Arthur_! Wake up!”

Arthur sat up when he heard Elyan’s cries and immediately grabbed his sword. In the blink of an eye, he stood on his feet, knees bent slightly and facing the men surrounding them.

 _Dammit. How the fuck did they surprise us? And how the_ fuck _didn’t I wake up?_

He decided he’d find that out later and started fending off the men attacking him. They came at him three at a time and it was all he could do not to be overwhelmed right at the start. Luckily for him, he’d been training to kill since birth.

Merlin’s face flashed before his eyes and with renewed strength, he fended them off, backing away so he was back-to-back with Gwaine and Percival. On the other side of the now smoldering fire, Lancelot, Elyan and Leon formed a similar formation. Together they stood their grounds. After a few minutes of intense fighting, there were only three men left standing. They dropped to their knees and threw their weapons away; Arthur placed his sword under the chin of the middle one, only panting a little. The adrenaline started ebbing away, and the cut on his arm was bleeding freely, but he paid it no attention.

“Who are you?” he demanded.

The man looked him in the eyes and immediately averted his gaze. Arthur put a little more pressure on his sword, drawing a small amount of blood from the man’s neck, and made an angry sound. He didn’t seem to be able to form any coherent words with how angry he was. Who did these people think they were, attacking knights of Camelot in their sleep, and more importantly, holding them up when they should be leaving to find Merlin?

“Answer me!” he yelled, and the man on the right flinched away. Arthur turned his attention to him, and that was all the middle man needed. He raised up from his knees and made an attempt to grab Arthur’s sword from his hands. Before he was off the ground, Leon’s blade pierced through his back and he fell to the ground with a soft groan, where he stayed still.

The man on the left whimpered and when Arthur looked at him, he saw it was barely more than a boy; maybe Merlin’s age, perhaps even younger. Arthur turned and stepped in front of him, his sword lowered slightly, but still pointed high enough so he could end the boy’s life with one movement.

“What do you know about a kidnapping here in the area? Do you know the people who attacked us a few days ago and took one of ours with them?” He didn’t feel like there was a big chance the boy knew anything, but he _had_ to ask; he had to hope.

There was a flicker of recognition in the boy’s eyes, but before he could open his mouth, there was a hiss from beside him.

“Keep your mouth shut, Brian! Don’t you dare-” A thump interrupted the man’s words, and Gwaine shook his hand after the punch he dealt the man. The bandit slumped to the ground, unconscious, and Gwaine glowered at the boy – Brian, apparently. He didn’t have to say a word before Brian started talking.

“Yes! Yes! Please, don’t kill me! I can take you there! Just… please don’t kill me,” he whimpered, and Arthur scoffed. He _really_ didn’t have the patience to deal with crying boys who just tried to murder all of his men, no matter how unsuccessful that attempt had been.

“Get up,” he said, gesturing with his sword. “Come on. And don’t you dare try anything, we’ll run you through the moment we get suspicious, understood?”

Brian nodded frantically and got up from his knees, his hands on his head. He didn’t lower them the whole time it took the knights to clean up their camp, while Arthur kept him on his swordpoint. As soon as the horses were packed, Arthur urged Brian to start walking, and they followed him deeper into the Darkling Woods.

-*-*-*-

After they had been walking the better part of the morning, Brian finally came to a stop. He turned around and gestured helplessly. “Last I saw, they were here. We weren’t exactly on the best of terms with that group, but… I saw them here several times. And…” Arthur tuned out his stumbled explanations as he looked around.

They were in some kind of valley, with grey stones surrounding them on all sides. It took him some time, but after a while, Arthur noticed a small opening in the rocks. It looked just big enough to fit a grown man through. He gestured to his knights and quietly approached the opening. When they had all reached him, he shared a look and then stepped through, ducking his head slightly on instinct.

When he reached the end of the small tunnel, he stopped dead in his tracks. He seemed to have stepped into some kind of giant cave lit with torches along the sides and a big fire right in the middle. He vaguely noticed the smell of roasted chicken reaching his nose before he was pushed forward by Gwaine bumping into him from behind.

“Oi, princess, don’t just stop all of a-” Gwaine fell quiet when he saw what Arthur was looking at, and the rest of the knights joined them in the opening. Before they had a chance to truly take all of it in though, they were spotted, and Arthur mentally slapped himself on the head for not thinking of looking for another entrance than what was clearly the main one. It was clear they didn’t stand a chance against the forty men approaching them, and Arthur didn’t even bother reaching for his sword. At least this way, they’d be led straight to the dungeons, he thought darkly while sinking to his knees and gesturing for his knights to do the same.

Mere minutes later, they were thrown in a dungeon and Arthur heard a gasp from the other side. He looked away from their captors and found Merlin, standing against the wall with his arms bound above his head with iron shackles.

-*-*-*-

Arthur threw himself toward Merlin, only stopping right in front of him when he saw Merlin’s face. His servant was looking at him with anger written all over his face before looking over at the knights and slumping in his chains.

“Arthur. Lancelot. Guys. What the hell are you doing here?!” His voice raised towards the end, and Arthur took a step back when Merlin looked at him again, his eyes burning with rage. “Why the fuck would you come here?! You’ve put yourselves in danger! You’d escaped! Why would you search for them?!” To Arthur’s disbelief, Merlin rattled in the chains keeping his hands above his head, while continuing to yell at them. “I can’t believe you! I did so much to keep you safe and now you just go looking for danger yourself!”

Arthur backed away, his face heating up. This was the thanks they got for crossing the kingdom looking for Merlin? “What the hell are you talking about?! We searched for you for _days_ , and this is how you greet us? I can’t believe you!” He echoed Merlin’s words, wrapped up in his disbelief.

Merlin struggled against the chains again, as if he wanted to take them off for the sole purpose of being able to slap Arthur or something. “I’m just a servant! I’m not worth risking your life for! Why would you do that?!”

Arthur felt like something snapped inside of him. “Because I can’t think straight with you!” he yelled, heedless of the knights still following his and Merlin’s every word. “You’re my servant, Merlin, yes, but you’re so much more than that! You’re my best friend, you give me advice in everything! I come to you with all my problems, I turn to you when I’m in trouble, I need your help with almost everything! Can’t you see that? Don’t you think I’d do the same for you? You’re so much more than a servant, Merlin, I thought you knew that by now! You’re smart, you’re quick-witted, you always know what to say! I trust you with my life, like I’d trust no one else with it! I would do anything to keep you safe, to make sure you were alright! I wish you knew how much I-” He snapped his mouth closed, suddenly sobering up. As he was screaming, he had walked up to Merlin, so that they were now almost face to face. Merlin was looking at him with wide eyes, all the fury gone from his features. Arthur softened and slowly reached up to cradle Merlin’s face in his hands. He felt Merlin lean into the touch, probably involuntarily. His next words were whispered so quietly, he was sure Merlin was the only one who could hear him. “I can’t lose you. I won’t lose you, Merlin, not for anything. There’s nothing in this world that’s more important to me than you. Do you understand that?”

Merlin’s eyes widened impossibly more and he nodded softly, his eyes half closed now. Arthur didn’t let go of him, suddenly feeling the need to stay as close as he could. It wasn’t until he heard a faint cough behind him that he remembered they weren’t alone in the dungeon.

He jerked back and cleared his throat as he turned around to face his knights. They were all looking at him with weird expressions on their faces – almost… relieved, though Leon had a more confused look on his face. Elyan whispered something in his ear and Leon’s expression cleared; Arthur decided he didn’t even want to know what Elyan had said.

Lancelot approached and stepped around Arthur to speak to Merlin. He and Merlin spoke in hushed voices, so quiet they couldn’t even be heard in the dead silence there was in the dungeon now, and Merlin shrugged a few times while Lancelot looked more worried with every passing second. At last, he sighed and stood up straight.

“We’ll just have to find something else then. You’re absolutely sure?” He asked Merlin, and Arthur saw Merlin slump a little before nodding again. Lancelot looked around him and then back at Arthur. “Ehm… Merlin says he doesn’t know how to escape this hellhole. But that’s why we’re here, right?”

Arthur blinked and looked between his knight and his servant – no, his _friend_. They had discussed the possibility of escaping? Why so secretive about that? Before he could ponder on that much longer, Gwaine stepped forward and addressed Merlin.

“How often do they bring food? How many guards are there? Do you know how many men there are in total?”

Merlin answered his questions the best he could, but Arthur saw that he was barely keeping upright. He wondered how he hadn’t seen that earlier.

“Twice a day. About three, it changes. I don’t know, a lot.” Merlin’s voice was barely more than a whisper anymore. Arthur approached again and eyed the chains that held him up.

“Why are you in iron chains?” he asked. He almost missed the way Merlin flinched and glanced over at Lancelot.

“I… um,” was all he said, before Lancelot stepped in.

“Is that important, sire? I suggest we focus on trying to get out of here.” He then seemed to remember who he was talking to, and he added, “If you agree, that is, my lord.”

Arthur looked between the two men. Something was going on there, but he stored it away for future reference; Lancelot was right, they needed to get out of here first. As soon as they were safe – as soon as _Merlin_ was safe – he’d demand answers. For now-

“Alright. We need to come up with something. Ideas?”

The next few hours were spent trying to come up with a plan to get out of their prison, but every time there seemed to be something that could work, someone found a way it wasn’t possible. It was increasingly frustrating, and Arthur felt himself getting more annoyed with every minute that passed. By the time the door of their dungeon opened, he was pacing across the room, too agitated to stay still. And as two men entered the dungeon to drop off a carafe of water and some chunks of what looked like _very_ old bread, he suddenly knew exactly what they needed to do to get out of there.

-*-*-*-

The door opened. The guards entering to collect the leftovers of their meal were greeted with four men standing right behind it, their arms crossed in front of their chests. Leon, Percival, Elyan and Arthur didn’t move when they were asked to, hindering the men from entering the room. Behind them, Lancelot stood next to Merlin, shielding him from the door.

“What is the meaning of this? What are you doing?” One of the men addressed Arthur, and the prince had to suppress a sigh of frustration. What was with the stupid questions all the time?

“We’re distracting you. Couldn’t you figure that out for yourself?” The two guards in front of them barely had time to frown as Gwaine let go of the ceiling, dropping on top of them. Arthur and the other three surged forward in the commotion, and they managed to take the swords from them before they could draw them. With two well-aimed punches, Percival knocked them both out, and Arthur kneeled to search them. He retrieved all of their weapons – they had an incredible amount of knives hidden on their bodies for mere guards – and distributed them amongst his knights.

Gwaine let out a yelp and held something up. He threw it at Lancelot from across the room, who caught it, his face lighting up. He turned around to Merlin and a few moments later, Arthur was pleased to see the man rubbing his wrists, freed from the chains. Lancelot whispered something, to which Merlin nodded, but Arthur couldn’t catch the conversation. He decided Lancelot was probably asking if Merlin could walk, because they came over to the door, Merlin leaning on Lancelot slightly. Arthur smiled at him, and his servant smiled weakly back. Arthur looked around the room one more time and turned to the door.

“Alright. Ready? Let’s get out of here, then.”

As quietly as they could, they exited the dungeons, surprise their only advantage against the horde of criminals in the enormous cave.

-*-*-*-

They actually succeeded in catching them by surprise, to Arthur’s astonishment. For some reason, they weren’t noticed exiting until the very last possible moment, and they were already almost through the main entrance by that time. When they were finally noticed, they didn’t have a problem fending the men off. Before he knew it, Arthur was standing outside, a good distance away from the valley, his knights surrounding him and Merlin leaning heavy on Lancelot once again. It looked like Lancelot was reprimanding Merlin for something, but Arthur didn’t pay it much mind, instead checking to see if everyone was alright. They had sustained some minor cuts, but nothing too serious, so he urged them up the path, towards the place they’d left their horses. Brian, the boy that brought them here in the first place, was nowhere to be seen, but Arthur didn’t think about him twice; the less he saw of the boy, the better. At least their horses were alright, he noticed, pleased.

“Merlin, get here,” he called over to his servant, and after a short exchange of looks with Lancelot, Merlin approached him.

“Sire? Are you going to yell at me again? Because I’ll be honest, my head hurts a little from the last time, and the sun stings in my eyes. So… could you not?”

Arthur blinked for a moment and then felt his lips tug up at the corners. Good to know Merlin was still the same, no matter what they’d done to him in that cave.

“No. Just… get on the horse. We’re going back to Camelot.” He gestured to Llamrei, and Merlin frowned.

“Huh? You… you want me to use Llamrei? But… what are you going to do?”

Arthur rolled his eyes and snorted. “Get on the damn horse, Merlin. You can’t walk all the way back, and we don’t have an extra horse for you. So, we’re sharing mine.” For some reason, he felt his cheeks burn, but he refused to believe he was ashamed. Nope. Just… he could share a horse with Merlin. It had _nothing_ to do with wanting to keep him close. Of _course_ not, why would it?!

Merlin’s ears turned a little red, but he sighed and after one more skeptic look at Arthur, mounted Llamrei. Arthur sat behind him and grasped the reins. And if he had to reach across Merlin for that, well, he couldn’t help that, now could he?

He urged his horse forward, and his knights followed. Arthur felt Merlin lean back against him, and he relished in the feeling of Merlin’s warm back pressed against him. If anything, the past few days had taught him Merlin was a constant in his life he didn’t really want to lose anytime soon.

He couldn’t resist resting his chin on Merlin’s shoulder and sighed softly. His stomach gave a small flutter when he felt Merlin do the same.

In that position, they rode off, with the rising sun on their left and their faces towards Camelot.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this! Come visit me on [my Tumblr](https://sam4587.tumblr.com/), if you want to.


End file.
